Roger Goodell could win hearts and minds by legalizing weed

American history was made once again last Tuesday and it was not because the United States elected the first president who cannot read. Eight more states around the country legalized marijuana for either recreational or medical purposes after Tuesday’s election.

With more and more people in America coming around to the positives that are associated with the plant that has never been the cause of a single death in the history of mankind, the country’s billion dollar sport leagues are the next in line to allow their players to use marijuana.

Based on the current opinion that a majority of the NFL’s players have about the league’s commissioner in Roger Goodell (not a good one), he should probably consider taking a closer look into the benefits of the plant. IfGoodell were to allow the NFL’s players to have access to marijuana, it could become one of the single most important acts in the league’s existence.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would bring a lot of smiles to his players’ faces if the league were to allow the use of medical marijuana. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Reports have already come out that the NFLPA has begun to investigate into the benefits of allowing the league’s players to use the plant. This is at least progress if anything.

Now some who are not aware of the positive impact that medical marijuana could have on the NFL may just think the players will turn into zombies with their fingers covered in artificial cheese from eating a family size bag of Doritos. But that would be far from the case.

Not only is medical marijuana a safer option to treat chronic pain than the easily addicting opioids available, but there is a possibility that the plant could help eliminate the league’s ever-growing saga with concussions.

Former Packers and Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is one of many former coaches accused of misleading players about the dangers of pain killers in a recent lawsuit. (Photo Source: Twitter)

A number of former players (more than 1,500) are currently suing the NFL for being mislead about the dangers of taking pain killers during their careers. A federal judge denied the motion to dismiss the case last Friday, meaning this could be the latest event to tarnish the legacy of the league.

The NFL has a unique opportunity to become one of the world’s first major sports leagues to allow medical marijuana. The most recent legal trouble that the league could soon be involved in should be enough to convince the commissioner to take the high road.

Adam has been covering the NFL for the last five years and his work has been published by a number of sports-related websites you may or may not have heard of including USA TODAY, SB Nation, and FanSided. In addition to writing for ClickON, Adam is also the Co-Editor of The Viking Age and a writer for The Comeback. If you want to make him laugh, he's always in the mood for a good Manti Te'o joke.